The Congress has become the single largest party in the hill-state of Meghalaya, after its candidate Miani D. Shira won the crucial Ampati by-poll by a margin of 3,191 votes.
With both the two major parties—the Congress and the Nationalist People’s Party ( NPP) tied at 20 seats each in the last Assembly election held in February this year, the Ampati by-poll was seen as a sort of a tie-breaker.
The 60-member state Assembly, though dominated by the Congress and the NPP, has 18 legislators from the regional alliances including three Independent MLAs, who can now make or break the ruling NPP-led coalition government of Conrad Sangma. The BJP which has lent its support to the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) led by the NPP has no means of coming to the aid of chief minister Conrad Sangma as it has won just two seats.
Reports are already coming in that an elated Mukul Sangma, flush with happiness at his daughter Miani’s victory is, in fact, rushing back to Shillong from the Garo hills to chalk out the party’s plan of action. The door is now open to some serious political activity in the state in the days ahead.
The Ampati by-poll which saw a record 90 per cent turnout was one of the most bitterly-contested elections that the constituency has ever witnessed being a direct contest between the two rival political families in the Garo hills. And to top it all, it was a high stake battle for both sides. A win for NPP candidate Clement Momin would have made it easy for Chief Minister Conrad Sangma to complete his full-term. The state is known for its political instability, where legislators switch sides with impunity.
In the February polls, former chief minister, Mukul was elected with a thumping margin from the seat. He was also elected from Songsak in East Garo hills. But he chose to retain Songsak in March, which necessitated the by-poll. The Ampati seat, which is a Mukul bastion, has been nurtured by Mukul and his family for the past 25 years. Mukul had been elected from Ampati for a record six times. However, this time, his 27-year-old daughter, faced stiff resistance from the NPP, who had left no stone unturned to wrest the Mukul bastion.
The Congress party, which has termed the win as a ‘moral victory’ and a ‘come-back’ moment, is likely to meet governor Ganga Prasad in Raj Bhawan, to stake claim to form the government. The ball is now in the governor’s court as he will have to decide whether a floor test needs to be held to decide which party has the majority in the house.
Conrad Sangma, who is yet to get himself elected as a member of the legislative Assembly, is not going to breathe easy any longer. His coalition partners comprising of regional groupings, could now arm twist him, especially if Mukul is able to wean away a few legislators over to his side.